A new prototype of a self-reconfigurable modular robot, M-TRAN
III, has been developed, with an improved fast and rigid connection
mechanism. Using a distributed controller, various control modes
are possible: single-master, globally synchronous control or parallel
asynchronous control. Self-reconfiguration experiments using up to
24 modules were undertaken by centralized or decentralized control.
Experiments using decentralized control examined a modular structure
moved in a given direction as a flow produced by local selfreconfigurations.
In all experiments, system homogeneity and scalability
were maintained: modules used identical software except for
their ID numbers. Identical self-reconfiguration was realized when
different modules were used in initial configurations.

Example
2: Self-reconfiguration experiment by a single
master control. A linear structure
made of 8 modules climbed a step. The
step was not detected by sensors and the
whole motion control was open-loop with
predefined trajectory. (2.5 MB) wmv

3

Example
3: A linear structure made of 16 modules
moved forward. All the modules have the
same program and worked in parallel as
masters or slaves. (1.3 MB) wmv

4

Example
4: A mesh structure made of 24 (and 20)
modules moved forward conducted by
multi-master modules. Surface connections
were changed more than 300 times
during a 15-min experiment. (1.8 MB) wmv